by Ted Berg, USA TODAY Sports

by Ted Berg, USA TODAY Sports

The Boston Red Sox have sold out 793 consecutive games, a Major League Baseball record. Club officials aren't sure they'll get to 795 - even though they're offering fans incentives to keep Fenway Park full.

"We expect the sellout streak will likely end in April, potentially even as early as the second game of the year," said chief operating officer Sam Kennedy.

The Red Sox's ticket scarcity the past decade has been near-legendary, fueled by World Series championships in 2004 and 2007. But a pair of distasteful seasons put a considerable dent in the club's brand.

The team endured a calamitous end to the 2011 season, going 7-20 in the month of September to miss the playoffs by one game.

In 2012, the Red Sox lost 93 games, suffered through a series of off-field controversies centered largely around manager Bobby Valentine and traded away several of their most high-profile players.

It was their first sub-.500 finish since 1997, and Valentine was fired after the season.

On Tuesday, the Red Sox announced a series of discounts on concession prices for the first month of the season.

Hot dogs will be two-for-one, draft beer prices lowered from $7.50 to $5, and children 14 and under will get free hot dogs and juice boxes.

"We've got 17 home games in April, which is a lot of games for a month that is traditionally a difficult month for ticket sales for most baseball teams, specifically in markets where you've got colder weather," Kennedy said. "So we took that into consideration, with the fact that we've had a decade of sellouts and incredible fan support. This gesture is meant to be a thank-you gesture. We don't really see it as an enticement to get people to come to the ballpark."

Kennedy emphasized that no gesture could be as important to Boston fans as an improved team, but said any marketing efforts are directed toward that goal.

"We always aggressively market the club," he said. "We need to sell tickets for two reasons: No. 1, it's a competitive advantage for the team. Our players notice it, and they want to play for a full house every night.

"No. 2, we need the revenue. We need to generate revenues to reinvest into player payroll and into Fenway Park, which has been our formula for the last 10 years here."

And while the club may not fill Fenway every night, it's still a far cry from, say, the Miami Marlins, who are offering discounts via Groupon for their home opener.

"Most teams in baseball would be happy to have the problems that we have," Kennedy said.